


In Pursuit of Knowledge

by SirLadySketch



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, First Time, NSFW, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 15:54:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3902077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirLadySketch/pseuds/SirLadySketch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes the best way to a guy's heart is not through his stomach, but through his studies. Remli brings Solas a present from a week-long trip to Orlais; Solas greatly approves. (NSFW)</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Pursuit of Knowledge

“Vhenan, we’re back!” Remli said, striding into the rotunda, a parcel tucked under her arm. Solas looked up from his research, set down his notes, and stepped around the desk to greet her. 

He stretched out his arms and she darted into them, turning it into a fierce hug. He returned her enthusiastic embrace, marveling at how naturally she fit against him. Given the newness of their relationship—the tender, more intimate nature, at least—he’d been surprised by how long it had taken the hours to pass this week, and how empty his mornings were without her daily visits where she peppered him with questions. 

This fledging romance, this closeness—it was not a something he’d indulged in for a very long time. A part of him feared what might come of it, while another part reveled in the possibilities. And while that latter half would have liked to have greeted her in a more lingering way, this was neither the Fade nor a secluded balcony, and if Dorian saw them they would never hear the end of it.

“I take it your outing was more pleasant than originally anticipated?” he asked, smiling down at her, settling for keeping her in a loose embrace. She beamed at him, using her empty hand to gesture at the air.

“Oh no, Sera set some noblewoman’s skirts alight, and I’m not sure if it was as accidental as she claimed. Cole seemed to draw all manner of stray animals, and I had to remind him a few times that it’s not considered polite to crouch on a table and stare down at someone while revealing their innermost secrets. By the time we got to the fourth shop, the city guard politely asked us to leave,” Remli replied, thinking about the discounted shipping they’d been offered if they left a list of their desired supplies instead of visiting in person. 

“Vivienne lingered in the city a bit longer to catch up with some court acquaintances, but we waited on the outskirts while she did her shopping and schmoozing. There is a lovely little village outside of the city, with open skies and old trees, so it was rather relaxing,” she sighed, shaking her head at the memory. “Fortunately, I think that will be the last time that Vivienne insists on taking me along, and I’m pretty sure that I’ve successfully deterred the overly snooty nobles from visiting us here at Skyhold, so overall? Mission accomplished.” 

“I hope that your remaining time was uneventful and relaxing, then,” Solas chuckled, knowing that very few trips with Sera could ever be considered uneventful, and that one could never be at ease with the court mage in such close quarters. Still, Remli had an easy grin, and she’d returned with some of the worry she’d taken with her lifted from her shoulders.

“I spent a good deal of our trip coming back going over this,“ she said, bringing the parcel up and offering it to him. He took the package, letting her go to turn it about in his hands, feeling the weight of it.

“A book?” he asked, intrigued by her gift.

“I think you’ll find it an amusing read,” she said, “I saw it in one of the village stalls and thought you might like it.”

Solas turned the wrapped item in his hands again, looking for the edge of the protective paper. Remli watched his movements, a slight blush across her face. She chewed her lower lip, and he wondered, briefly, if it was anticipation in his reaction, or a fear that he would cast it aside. _So much yet unknown about her,_ he thought, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Finding the sealed edge at last, he delicately pulled away the paper from the slim volume to reveal the cover of her find.

“ _In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar,_ by Brother Genitivi,” he read, turning it over in his hands. She moved his hand to reveal more of the cover, pointing to the subtitle.

“This is the volume where he writes about the elves,” she explained, allowing her hand to linger on his. “I thought that we could—“

“Inquisitor!” interrupted a soldier from the doorway, heading towards them with a scroll in his hand. Remli jumped at the young man’s intrusion, her hands dropping to her waist to scramble for knives she’d left in her room. The young man saw this, blanched, and stopped abruptly, saluting. “Apologies, Serah, but Ser Cullen, Lady Josephine, and Lady Leliana await you in the War Room.”

Remli eased her stance and cursed quietly under her breath. Running her fingers through her hair, she turned to Solas with an apologetic shrug.

“I’m sorry, I did promise them that I would brief them on what we did in town.” He nodded, kissing her on the forehead and stepping back to release her.

“I would not keep you from your duties,” he said, then lifted the book. “Many thanks for the gift. I shall set some time aside to read it soon.”

She grinned again, cheeks rosy. She took a few steps forward and swiftly rose on her toes to steal a quick kiss before darting out of the room, the harried soldier hurrying behind her. Solas watched her go and licked his lips, tasting the stolen kiss. What a strange and heady feeling this Lavellan stirred in him, one he had not felt in, well. Centuries at least, and never quite in this way.

As the door closed, he stared down at the book in his hand, puzzled at the gift. He’d read other volumes by this priest, but they were nothing terribly remarkable save for some startlingly inaccurate conclusions and wild theories supported by religious drivel. Still, something must have caught Remli’s eye for her to have chosen it for him.

Curious, he opened the volume and noticed the note on the cover page written in Remli’s spidery hand.

_Vhenan,_

_I’ve taken the liberty of correcting Brother Genetivi’s misinterpretations of Dalish culture and customs. It is my hope that you can use your experiences in the Fade to help bridge the gap between some of the ancient works he describes to the arts and practices of my people. Perhaps, once you are done, we can read the annotated version together and discuss the idiosyncrasies of Humans writing about Elves._

_Ar lath,  
Remli_

After reading the note, he skimmed the pages of the volume and found that she had indeed taken the time to make corrections in the page margins, her notes spilling into the extra folio pages at the end of the book, with a few added pages tucked in for good measure. A wondrous gift indeed. When had she had the time to complete this? 

The diaries of long-dead explorers could wait. Pushing aside the books that discussed long lost artifacts and Elvhen treasures looted by Tevinter explorers, he settled down on the couch in pursuit of knowledge of this woman who continued to surprise him at every turn.

\--

That evening, Remli moaned a little as she stretched, walking the stairs up to her chambers. After an afternoon of planning strategic diplomatic endeavors, selecting which areas to send requisition teams to search, and listening to her counselor’s ideas about what their next moves should be, she was mentally exhausted. Collapsing into bed with a good book would be the perfect way to fall asleep. 

She thought of the reading materials currently by her bedside—a few of the Fade primers Solas had given her, a swift and sure way to fall asleep (if a bit tedious and dull). There were a few reports from the soldiers, describing what they’d come across in their expeditions—interesting, but too close to work to help her relax. She probably had a few _Hard in Hightown_ books laying about, as Varric had recently acquired complete sets for the entire team. She grinned, remembering that he’d also given her a collection of _Swords & Shields_, or what he’d written of it so far. Perhaps a bit of salacious reading was in order.

She reached the top of her stairs at last, trying to remember where she’d hidden that particular gem, and froze a few steps from the top. Solas sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace, a pile of logs to one side and a stack of books on the other. In his hands, she could just make out the pages of her annotated gift. Seeing her, he smiled and rose to his feet in one smooth movement. 

“I did not mean to intrude,” he said, straightening in front of her. She shook her head, returning his smile with a slight flush of pleasure.

“I don’t consider it an intrusion,” she said, walking up into the room to join him by the fire. “More of a very pleasant surprise after a _very_ long day.” 

He held up the slim volume of _In Pursuit of Knowledge_. “I did not have a chance to thank you properly for the gift,” he murmured, stepping closer still.

“Do you like it? I know he’s got some wildly inaccurate things in there but I thought some of them were so absurd that—“ he interrupted her with a kiss, gentle but insistent, and she brought up her hands to twine them behind his neck and draw him down to her. She heard rather than saw him drop the book, and felt his gentle touch on her shoulders.

When they broke apart, she was panting, and a playful grin softened his features. This close, she could feel the quickened beat of his heart, her own pulse racing in kind. Pressed against him, she could also feel his reaction to their kiss, and her own body reacted in kind as his knee brushed against her inner thigh. 

“I take it you liked it,” she laughed, her voice a little breathy, catching as he ran his hands lightly down her body. She searched his eyes, marveling a little at their intensity. In the firelight, his grey eyes seemed to be speckled with gold, and the tenderness she saw in them quickened her pulse further still. She could feel his eyes skimming over her face, mapping out her features as though he meant to learn them by heart. 

“I enjoyed learning more about you and your clan,” he replied, allowing one hand to settle on her lower back, while the other crept back up to slide through her hair. “I found your notes to be quite... revealing,” he emphasized the last word, letting his voice dip lower. His cheek slid against her temple so that he could kiss the tip of her ear as he breathed, “I would learn more of you, Vhenan.” 

She hummed in response, arching up against him. She released her hold on his neck to guide his face back for another kiss. In response, his hand slid up the hem of her shirt, long fingers trailing up her spine while the other fell to her hip, ghosting along her thigh. She let out a soft and unexpected gasp at his touch, rocking against his knee and lowering her hands to his shoulders, trying to pull him closer still.

His sudden step back left her swaying on her feet, dazed and overwhelmed by an aching need for touch. However, he’d simply moved to sweep her up into his arms and carry her over to the bed, moving his lips’ attention to her neck as she held onto his shoulders. He kneeled on the edge of the bed to lay her down, froze, then drew back, taking her with him.

“You sleep on a rock?” he asked, looking aghast at her bed. He’d always known the dwarves had strange customs, but never thought they took their connection to the Earth so literally that they would carve out and sleep upon beds of stone.

“It was a gift,” she chided, giggling a little into his shoulder. She wriggled out of his arms, climbed onto the bed, and bounced a little. She dipped a few inches, but didn’t get very far off the ‘mattress.’ “See? It’s sort-of got some give. Although…” she admitted, plopping down again to sit on the edge of the bed, “Truth be told, I’ve been ‘accidentally’ falling asleep on the couch recently.“

He frowned, shaking his head. He turned and headed towards the stairs, and for a heartbeat she was afraid he was going to leave. However, he simply grabbed the large pillows from the only comfortable furniture in the room and dropped them a few feet in front of the fire, leaning over to move some of the books out of the way and replace the logs on the fire. 

She stood, grabbed the blankets and some extra pillows off of the (admittedly firm) mattress and joined him. Together, they made a makeshift bed reminiscent of the bedrolls they used while in the field, clearing a space wide enough for them both.

Solas sat down first, drawing her down and catching her in a kiss again. She eased onto his lap, humming with pleasure as his hands roamed her back and sides. She placed a hand on his chest, fingering the cord that held the jawbone around his neck while the other arm draped over his shoulder.

“I missed you,” she murmured, shifting a little to adjust her position. Solas’ hands twitched at the contact, and he pulled her closer, moving his mouth down to nip at the exposed flesh at the base of her neck. She shivered again, heart racing, but pulled his head away so he would look at her.

“My experience in, ah… well, it’s rather limited. More of a footnote than an actual entry, brief and long ago,” she confessed. His eyebrows rose, and she grinned down at him, flexing her legs a little to root him to the spot. She put a finger to his lips before he could use his favorite “I shouldn’t” line on her again. 

“I am telling you this because I’ve been spending most of my nights the last week thinking about you,” she grinned, seeing his eyes narrow as he focused on her face, no doubt pondering what she’d been doing when she’d been thinking of him. Or perhaps he was trying to focus on what she was saying, rather than on the hand that was trailing down his stomach. Sometimes he was a bit difficult to read. 

She ran her thumb across his lips, wetting her own before whispering, “I’m hoping you’ll be willing to teach me more, Hahren. The pursuit of knowledge is a very noble endeavor, don’t you think?” 

To emphasize her point, she rocked forward while she kissed him again, mostly to ensure that she would cut off any possible objections he might have, but also to soak in the sensation of finally being able to touch him freely after months of not-so-subtle hints. The last few weeks of kissing had been nice, both in the waking world and the Fade. But it had been a very, _very_ long “girl’s week away” trip. 

"Indeed," he replied, turning his attention to her jaw line and traveling its length with kisses. 

Her hands fumbled at his hips to try to find the clasp of his belt, fingers skimming along the top of the supple leather bands. She found it at last, the metal parting, and she grinned into the kiss, victorious. Letting the belt fall to the floor, she grabbed the hem of his tunic and pulled, lifting it off of him to reveal… another shirt, this one tucked into his breeches.

“Too many clothes,” she complained, fumbling at the shirt while trying to figure out how to get rid of the pants, too. Solas was of no help; as soon as she’d rid him of the tunic, he turned his attention to her neck again, although his hands crept up to cup her breasts, thumbs tracing her hardened nipples through the cloth. “Solas!” she gasped as his mouth and tongue travelled down her chest, opening her shirt clasps with his teeth.

Solas’ reaction to his name on her lips was immediate. He shifted forward, easing her down onto the blankets, and then his mouth sought hers, even as his hands dropped to her waist. He deftly undid the remaining clasps of her shirt, fingers trailing over the now bared skin. They paused over the puckered scar tissue that stretched from navel to hip, and he pulled back to study the old wound, a questioning silence between them.

“Not tonight,” she begged, raising a hand to turn his face away. She’d tell him at some point, but she did not want to be distracted by remembering another man when she had this one so pliant and warm above her. “Another time, but not tonight. Please, Solas.”

“As you wish,” he murmured, although he pulled away from her grasp, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on the pale skin. He then moved his ministrations to her belly, nuzzling and leaving wet kisses that had her squirming, her legs squeezing against him as his soft touches both tickled and tantalized.

“ _Fenedhis_ , Solas,” she swore, gripping his shoulders and willing herself not to buck as the jawbone slid between her legs. “Would you please get on with it, and t-take that off while you’re at it?”

He chuckled, giving her a playful nip and lowering a hand to move the offending jawbone. However, while he did move it aside, two fingers replaced the talisman, tracing over her curves through the cloth. He lowered his head again, this time to nuzzle her breast. 

She arched against the touches, gasping at each stroke and flick of his tongue as she felt tiny sparks race along her nerves. Her toes curled and she shifted under him, her hands tugging more insistently at the second layer of cloth between them. When he showed no signs of complying, she brought up a knee to rub against him, deciding two could play this game.

He made a surprised, slightly muffled “Hngg” noise in the back of his throat, and relented at last. He pulled away to remove the shirt and jawbone, and she rose with him, casting aside her own clothes and wriggling out of her pants and smalls, which proved somewhat difficult given the fact that she was still more or less straddling him. Solas, now freed from his shirt, helped her pull the rebellious material away. 

As soon she was bare, she tugged at the laces on his trousers, and gave a cry of victory as her fingers found purchase between skin and fabric. She wanted to feel more, wanted to press herself against him, but she couldn’t get the right angle to peel the fitted clothes away, and Solas was being of no help, his fingers returning to their gentle strokes.

She hissed and bucked involuntarily, distracted from her mission to remove the last layer of clothes between them. His mouth was hot against her face, his breaths coming in shorter pants.

“S-Solas,” she whimpered, moving one hand to his thigh while the other held on to the hem of his breeches. “Solas!” She yelped as one of his fingers slipped inside of her, making her mind empty for a minute. Coming back to her senses, she gasped out one more time, clinging desperately to her moment of clarity. She squeezed his thigh and tugged at the pants one more time, insisting.

“Solas, I swear by the stars if you don’t get your pants off now, I will find one of my daggers and cut them off of you and then you’ll be stuck with whatever Dorian gives you to wear and no one will have any sympathy for you so get them off now.” She hissed this last word as her hand slipped inside his pants to grasp him and try to pull him loose from the confines of the fabric. 

The next few seconds were a blur. One moment they were sitting haphazardly on the blankets, the next she was on the pillows and he was above her, the offending articles of clothing magically ending up in a heap halfway across her room. Skin against skin, hearts racing, limbs tangled while tongues explored. 

Remli arched into his touches, drawing up a leg to wrap around him, trying to pull him closer. He bucked against her, hands stroking and fingers exploring. His mouth moved along her body, murmuring words she could barely understand, every so often, her name a prayer on his lips. 

“Solas!” she gasped, the rock of her hips finally angled enough to catch him, briefly, before he slipped out. Wordlessly, he shifted to find the angle again, then rocked forward, filling her, cradling her between his arms as they found their rhythm. 

He caught her quiet cries with his mouth, felt his name upon her lips, reveled in the way her body rose to meet his movements. Skin against skin, the heat from the dying embers in the hearth nothing compared to the fire he felt building in his veins. He was close, and Remli seemed no better, panting beneath him, eyes barely slits as she watched him. 

_So beautiful,_ he thought, knowing that for the foreseeable future, the image of her writhing beneath him would be the only thing he saw when he closed his eyes.

Remli had never truly appreciated the calculated grace of Solas’s movements. Now, a slight twist of the hips meant a new sensation, fingers distracting in the moments between breaths. His body seemed to sing and sway, responding to her every reaction, and it was all she could do to keep up with him. 

The feel of him on her, inside her, it was too much. She cried out his name as she came, tightening her hold on him as she rode out the sensation. Dazed as she was, it was all she could do to hold onto him as he followed some few minutes later. He panted above her, catching his breath, face buried in her hair. His hand reached out to twine his fingers with hers, and they trembled for a few heartbeats, their bodies softening.

When he moved off of her, he rolled to his side, drawing her close and kissing the top of her head. She hummed, running a hand down his flank and nuzzling his chest.

“Mental note, buy more books,” she laughed, breathless, inhaling his scent and curling against him. She felt his chuckle rumble in his chest, and hummed in content as he threw an arm around her, cradling her close. 

“Hmm,” he murmured, “How was that for a first lesson, Da’len?” 

She grinned up at him, twining her legs with his and moving her hand to pat his rump appreciatively. 

“I eagerly await any and all knowledge you are willing to impart upon me, Hahren,” she replied, “I think you will find me an avid pupil.”

 

* * * * *

“So, how is it that Cole went on the ‘Girl’s Week Out’ shopping extravaganza, but you stayed put, Seeker?” asked Varric, refilling the woman’s mug from the keg at the end of the table. “I know you can appreciate the finer things in life, and I’m sure Vivienne would have loved to take you out for a day of pampering.”

“It is not so much that I did not want to go—I would have, and was going to, since the Inquisitor wanted a fourth companion to round out their trip.” Cassandra took a sip from her mug before continuing, “But then Cole showed an interest in her plans, and I thought that he might benefit from a change of scenery.”

“What’s that? You’ve got a soft spot for the Kid?” Varric chuckled, and Cassandra scowled at him.

“Remli only takes him to the wilds of Thedas, and if he is to learn anything about acting normal around people, he needs to be exposed to more than wolves and nugs. I thought some time in civilized society might help,” she sighed, rubbing her temples as she thought of the reports of damages the Inquisition owed to the inn outside of Orlais. “It seems I was mistaken.”

“Oy! We did ok!” Sera barked from across the table. “Creepy told tales to the innkeeper’s wife and got us free drinks for the night. The trick is to get him talking to the right people, then everyone wins, yeah? Sometimes even Creepy can be useful.”

Cassandra decided to be the better person and not rise to Sera’s remark, partially because she wasn’t really sure what else there was to say about the spirit. Still, the Inquisitor had come back in a happier mood, so that was something. She took a long hard pull at the mug, wondering if she could get Bull to share some of that swill he called liquor. 

And, as if summoned by his name, Cole was suddenly sitting astride the keg at the end of the table, kicking his legs back and forth and staring at the friends gathered. 

“Hot breath, trembling whispers, the staccato beat of hearts, winding down after a crescendo. Something forgotten and abandoned has been found again. It’s been so long, but not like this. It was never like this. Everything is brighter now. It’s easier to slip into the Fade when there is someone you love beside you.”

“COLE!” choked Cassandra. He watched curiously as Cassandra coughed and tried to clear her lungs, glaring up at him. “Such thoughts are private and not meant to be shared!”

“But why?” the boy asked, frowning. “You said it is good to see that the Inquisitor is happy. I thought you would want to know.”

Cassandra’s already flushed face purpled.

“I did not mean for you to tell us when they…!” she sputtered, trying to think of a delicate way of putting it. Unable to find the correct words, she reached across the table, took Bull’s mug from his hand, and poured a finger into her ale before throwing her head back to drink again.

“ELVHEN GLORYYYYY!” shrieked Sera, who apparently had no such inhibitions. She grinned, sticking out her tongue and jabbing Dorian’s side. “TOLD you! Said they’d get more than handsy when we got back, and you dinnit believe me! Pay up! You lost!”

Dorian chucked a few coins on the table, muttering under his breath before picking up his own drink.

“He didn’t even give her a proper ‘good to see you’ smooch when she got back this afternoon. I was sure it would be another week or so,” he sighed. Varric patted him on the arm, collecting his own share of the pile.

“I told you, Sparkler, the old adage is true. The longer you’re apart, the closer you get when you see each other again,” Varric grinned, clanking his mug against Sera’s. “Don’t feel so bad, if you haven’t noticed already, our Inquisitor excels at knowing when to make the Longshot, and she’s been sighting that mark for a while.”

He leaned forward, conspiratorial grin on his face. “So… who wants to bet that Chuckles will be giving our Inquisitor halla eyes for the foreseeable future?”

“She likes the hallas whole, why would she want their eyes?” asked Cole.

“He already does that,” said Dorian, unwilling to enter into a bet where the odds were stacked against him. He looked up at Cole, who tilted his head in confusion. The mage sighed, and patted the boy’s knee. “I’ll explain it when you’re older.”

**Author's Note:**

> Confession time: This is the first time I've ever really written anything NSFW. I'm glad to see people liked it! :D


End file.
